Daily updates about Syria

9/4/2014

Rebels have announced a new offensive in Quneitra province east of Quneitra city, called the battle of Fal-Moghyrat Sabhan. The offensive aims to eventually advance into Western Ghouta in the Damascus suburbs.

Rebels are advancing amid heavy fighting on Ayn al-Basha and Naba al-Sakher, and Majduliyah. They captured Mashara, a couple of kilometers north of Naba al-Sakher: http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=33.054573&lon=35.944347&z=14&m=b

A rebel tank shelling the Majduliyah hospital, which is used as a government checkpoint and which rebels later captured:

They are also attempting to storm the Tel Braq Hill, just northeast of Naba al-Sakher: http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=33.128782&lon=35.990524&z=14&m=b

Smoke from a government position in Ayn al-Basha:

An TOW hit on a tank in Quneitra province by the Saif al-Sham Brigades:

A hit on a tank in Quneitra province by the Syrian Revolutionaries Front with a Chinese HJ-8 ATGM:

Jabhat Ansar al-Islam firing a TOW missile in Quneitra province:

At least 13 airstrikes were carried out on Jobar, next to Damascus.

A SANA report on SAA troops in Jobar:

A tunnel found by SAA forces in Jobar.

SAA forces fighting in Jobar.

An unexploded rocket fired by the Syrian military at Jobar.

The UN said that it is concerned about discrepancies with Syria’s declared chemical weapons stockpile, and said that there is the possibility that omitted weapons could fall into the hands of the Islamic State.

96% of the declared stockpile has been turned over by the government and destroyed.

Jabhat al-Nusra executed 3 men in Maarat al-Nu’man in Idlib after 15 days of detention on charges of dealing with the Syrian military.

2 rebels were killed in fighting around the al-Za’lana checkpoint in Idlib province.

3 Islamic State fighters were killed, and an unknown number were captured, during fighting against rebels in the Idlib villages of al-Hesya and al-Wadria.

There are reports that Jabhat al-Nusra is attacking a Liwa al-Ummah base in Maarat al-Nu’man in Idlib after Liwa al-Ummah fighters defected to the Islamic State.

A rebel tank shelling a government position in the Idlib Plain:

A Reuters article about the Islamic State’s governance in ar-Raqqa: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/04/us-syria-crisis-raqqa-insight-idUSKBN0GZ0D120140904

5 women and 2 children were killed in Deir Ez Zor by airstrikes on the town of al-Ashara.

The number of people who were killed in Deir Ez Zor during an airstrike on the village of Ghariba has risen to 18. It was initially reported as 5 yesterday. Most of the dead were Islamic State fighters.

The Islamic State has threatened to liberate Chechnya and the North Caucasus from Russia and out Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, due to his support of the Syrian government.

Rebels attacking government positions around the Neirab Airport in Aleppo province:

Rebels captured the police HQ near the Citadel in Aleppo city:

The building was heavily damaged by a bomb two days ago. The government blamed the rebels for the bomb, and the rebels blamed the government, saying they detonated it before they withdrew.

The Islamic Front claimed to have captured the villages of al-Hasiyah and al-Wardiyah from the Islamic State in northern Aleppo.

An article on the CIA’s distribution of weapons and money to FSA-affiliated groups: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/09/01/238270_tense-relations-between-us-and.html?rh=1

Operations at the government-controlled Hama Military Airport are reported to be down to 20% due to daily rebel attacks with mortars and Grad rockets. Rebels are currently 2-3 km from the airport.

Israel reported that it had prevented media from reporting that Steven Sotloff had dual Israeli-US citizenship in order to reduce the risk to him after he was captured by the Islamic State last year. His dual citizenship was only made public after his execution earlier this week.

Britain’s Prime Minister, David Cameron, said that the UK could launch strikes against the Islamic State within Syria without Assad’s permission. He said that because of the illegitimacy of Assad’s government, normal international law would not apply.

Zaman Alwsl reported that over the last 10 days there have been over 1,000 reports of food poisoning in Latakia province.

The Assad University Hospital said the poisonings were from eating Palmida fish.

The province, which is the ancestral homeland of Assad’s family, has escaped most of the destruction seen in most of the country, but it has seen a large drain in manpower and an increase in poverty. The Palmida fish is cheap and has become a main food source for many people in the coastal province, while at the same time the coasts of the region have seen an increase in pollution.

A photo claiming to show an Islamic State parking ticket.

Islamic State reinforcements that have been massing around the government-held Kuwaires Airbase in Aleppo.

People in Daraya a day after a 72-hour ceasefire was declared.

Jabhat al-Nusra fighters from Daraa who defected to the Islamic State.

A barrel bomb in the Hanano neighborhood of Aleppo that failed to explode.